Large-Angle, Multifunctional Metagratings Based on Freeform Multimode Geometries

We show that silicon-based metagratings capable of large-angle, multifunctional performance can be realized using inverse freeform design. These devices consist of nonintuitive nanoscale patterns and support a large number of spatially overlapping optical modes per unit area. The quantity of modes, in combination with their optimized responses, provides the degrees of freedom required to produce high-efficiency devices. To demonstrate the power and versatility of our approach, we fabricate metagratings that can efficiently deflect light to 75° angles and multifunctional devices that can steer beams to different diffraction orders based on wavelength. A theoretical analysis of the Bloch modes supported by these devices elucidates the spatial mode profiles and coupling dynamics that make high-performance beam deflection possible. This approach represents a new paradigm in nano-optical mode engineering and utilizes different physics from the current state-of-the-art, which is based on the stitching of noninteracting waveguide structures. We envision that inverse design will enable new classes of high-performance photonic systems and new strategies toward the nanoscale control of light fields.